A Crash Course on the Gods
by telltaleArtist
Summary: Who are the gods, a question some ask, well explaining to you is no difficult task. In this poem, you will soon see, the twelve gods, plus Hestia, Hades, and Persephone. Learn what you will, and read all you want. Try to explore what I tell you in font. What is written is not the full story, but I hope you enjoy this crash course of history.


The gods take all power, they help the Earth grow.

They're intrigued by the mortals living so far below.

They keep eye on the people of their land

And every so often offer a helping hand.

From their home Mount Olympus to the dark Underworld,

The gods watch over our marvelous world.

Zeus, their ruler, god of the sky,

amused by the mortals and their fear to die.

He sits in his throne, keeping peace with the gods,

Oh, who am I kidding?

That's against all odds.

The king of us all, more moody than most.

Try not to anger our lifelong host.

He gets quiet furious, easily indeed.

You better answer to his every need.

He is the king from back then to this era,

Although he is not as frightening as his wife Hera.

She is the queen, and quite intimidating,

She does not approve of his constant mating.

She's angry with him, more times than not.

But she stills loves him, a whole awful lot.

Hera and Zeus had a child quit ugly,

Hephaestus, his name, the best blacksmith you'll see.

His wife is a girl, beautiful in fact,

But she's constantly running off behind his back.

Aphrodite loves love, but Hephaestus she does not,

Ares, the brute, is with her a lot.

The two are in love, who would have guessed?

The god of war, his girlfriend the best.

But with love comes hate, and hate she does indeed

Aphrodite filled with much jealousy.

Adonis, a mortal, quite handsome in fact

Was sworn to the gods in a lawful pact.

Half his time with Aphrodite, the goddess of love,

The rest with Persephone, when she is not above.

Persephone, the poor girl, forced in marriage,

She was taken away by a shadowy carriage.

Her husband so cruel, as far as we know.

He rules the lands far down below.

In the Underworld, Hades does rule,

And believe me, unlike Ares, he is no fool.

His job is demanding, and he's always so cold

But a place on Olympus, he cannot hold.

Zeus and Poseidon, they both won the draw,

And Hades was left with almost nothing at all.

Poseidon, his brother, ruler of the sea,

Can be very dangerous, believe me.

His powers are great and feared by all,

Out on the waters, it's no happy ball.

If he does not like you, stay away from the shore,

For if he is angry, you'll be what the waves look for.

Now speaking of waves, lets talk of the young maiden,

Artemis, the hunter, sworn away from men.

She is noble and kind and rules over the moon,

Unlike her brother who is up before noon.

Apollo, her twin, poetic and bright,

Rules over the sun each day, but not night.

He is quite the archer, like his sister (of course),

Oh! Have I mentioned who created the horse?

Poseidon it was, but to please a young girl,

Created the horse, but what for?

His "girlfriend" Demeter, unable to flee,

Challenged him to create an animal not from the sea,

Demeter, though, did not fall long,

For later, with Zeus, her daughter came along.

Back with Poseidon, another rival he did meet,

To Athena he must soon offer defeat.

The wise girl of strategy and wisdom and war,

She challenged her uncle, as patron for

The city of Athens, Athena did win

By giving an olive tree, not some salt water spring.

Now off course, I'd like to introduce someone so fine,

His name is Dionysus, god of all wine.

He's not too great, and stubborn he can be,

After all, a son of Zeus is he.

A throne on Olympus, given up by Hestia,

To Dionysus to rule for the next thousand millennia.

Goddess of the hearth, Hestia still stands,

But a throne she no longer has in her hands.

Off topic again, now the last but not least,

The messenger of the gods, none other than Hermes.

Born as a half-blood, half immortal, half man,

Was offered is throne by a god with no plan.

Apollo was watching as the boy stole his cattle,

The boy so young, innocent and fragile.

The sun god was angry, for the boy was a thief,

But Hermes made a gift, wonderful beyond belief.

A lyre was presented, in exchange for what was stolen.

And later in myth, it was soon spoken.

Hermes now a god, interesting, no?

For what normal mortal could put on quite a show?

Now the gods, you see, are still much alive.

But how, do you ask, did they manage to survive?

The answer is simple, and it does apply to me.

The gods are alive, because people still believe.


End file.
